Downtown Los Angeles: the theatre district overview

Downtown L.A. has one of the most amazing collections of historic
movie and legitimate theatres in the country. The theatres constitute
the largest theatre district (and first to be so listed) on the
National Register. This page offers a survey of the 20 survivors. Scroll down the page for the basic facts as well as links to pages for more details on each of them.

A look south on Broadway with the Globe, Tower, Rialto and Orpheum Theatres in view. Thanks to Glenn Primm for his January 2015 photo, one originally appearing on the Bringing Back Broadway Facebook page.

Downtown L.A. offers a wonderfully diverse collection ranging from some of the finest Los Angeles movie palaces to smaller theatres largely unchanged from 1910. The district is unique both in terms of the number of surviving structures, their state of preservation, and the amazing variety of architectural styles. As the money and business left downtown for Hollywood and other suburban areas in the 20s and 30s, there was little incentive to modernize the downtown theatres. Many of the buildings are quite unchanged from when they opened.

Sure, we've got retail stores in the lobbies and auditoria of several of the theatres but look beyond that and it's an architectural wonderland. I've wandered around and taken a few pictures and done a bit of research. I hope to point you in the direction of more investigations of historic Los Angeles theatres using the sources I've detailed in the listings. This page has a brief rundown of the surviving theatres in the
Broadway corridor. The links with each theater's description will take
you to more information. Have fun exploring!

What is now the Cameo opened in October 1910 as Clune's Broadway. It is a design by Alfred F. Rosenheim. Originally with 900 seats, it ended up with about 600 in later years, all on a single level.

It closed as a film house in 1991. There's currently retail in the lobby. The auditorium, now used for storage, has its original decor pretty much intact. For more information and photos see the pages on the Cameo Theatre: history | exterior views | interior views

It opened in January 1913 as a the Morosco, a 1,300 seat legit house for producer Oliver Morosco. Morgan, Walls & Morgan designed the Garland Bldg. that it's part of with Alfred Rosenheim doing the theatre itself. The theatre reopened in July 2015 after a major refurbishment by new operator Erik
Chol. Work included reopening the Broadway entrance, used since 1987
for retail.

S. Charles Lee along with associate architect with S. Tilden Norton designed this French Baroque fantasia, considered by many to be the grandest movie palace on Broadway. The opening was January 30, 1931 with Charlie Chaplin and Albert Einstein in attendance for Chaplin's "City Lights." Current seating capacity is 1,937. Photo by Hunter Kerhart.

Morgan, Walls & Clements designed this 1927 vintage theatre, opened as a home for musical comedies. It dabbled with running movies occasionally as early as 1929. The seating capacity was originally 1,491.

The Merced opened January 30, 1871, the oldest surviving theatre building
in Los Angeles. The building had shops on the ground floor, the theatre
on the second and living space for the owners on the top floor. It was also known as the Teatro Merced and Mercedes Theatre. The 400 seat theatre was designed by Ezra F. Kysor.

It closed as a theatrical venue on New Year's Day 1877. The facade
was restored in the 60s and interior work was done in the 80s. It sits just south of the Pico House, a historic hotel. Both are
currently owned by the City of Los Angeles. After years of sitting
vacant, it's planned that the building will be the home for the city's public access television
channel. For more information see the page on the Merced Theatre.

The theatre opened February 1, 1918 as Grauman's Million Dollar due to its reported cost. Albert C. Martin designed the building with William Lee Woollett as the theatre architect. The seating capacity initially was 2,345.

It opened in 1927 as Bard's 8th St. Theatre. In the early 1930s it also had an additional entrance at 757 S. Broadway through the Merritt Bldg. The architect for the 600 seat house was Lewis A. Smith, doing a remodel of a 1917 building that was previously a restaurant. Charles O. Matcham did a remodel in 1942.

It closed as a theatre around 1997 and has been used storage and retail since then. In 2017 what was left of the theatre interior was gutted in a remodel for a store for the upscale clothing brand COS. For more information and photos see the Olympic Theatre pages: history + exterior views | interior views |

This Orpheum opened in 1926, a move down the street for the circuit from their previous home at what is now called the Palace Theatre. G. Albert Lansburgh designed the theatre, currently with 1,976 seats.

It opened in 1911 as the Orpheum and became the Palace in 1926. The two balcony house is a design of G. Albert Lansburgh with Robert Brown Young and Son as associate architects. Originally with 1,956 seats, it currently seats 1,068 on main floor and first balcony.

The current building is the second theatre on the site, opening as the National in February 1914. It replaced an earlier theatre, also called the National, that had opened in 1911. Both were operated by Bert Lustig. Later the current building was called Gore's National and by 1917 it was the Regent. Photo by Sean Ault.

The theatre reopened in November 2014 as a music venue and restaurant after a big
remodel. It had closed in 2000 after decades as a grindhouse and (at
the end) an adult venue. After that there was sporadic use as a concert venue. This is the last remaining historic movie theatre on Main St. For more information see the Regent Theatre pages: history + exterior views | interior views

It opened in 1917 as Quinn's Rialto. Oliver P. Dennis designed the building, a rare early example of a stadium-style theatre layout. In 1919 Sid Grauman got it and after a remodel it was called Grauman's Rialto. Originally it had 1,000 seats, down to 840 in later years.

It closed as a theatre in 1987 with the lobby then used for retail. The building reopened in December 2013 as an Urban Outfitters store with a wonderful restoration of the marquee. The 2014 photo is by Hunter Kerhart. For more information and photos see the Rialto Theatre pages: history + exterior views | interior views

The Roxie opened on November 25, 1931. It was the last of the Broadway theaters to open -- and is the only one in the art deco style. The 1,600 seat theatre is a design by John M. Cooper. It was built with a stage that never got any use.

It opened in November 1921 as Loew's State and for decades was a major showcase for MGM product. Until 1936 it also used a second entrance at 306 W. 7th St. It's a design by two San Francisco-based firms, Weeks & Day and Reid Brothers. With 2,119 seats, it has the largest capacity on Broadway. Photo by Hunter Kerhart.

It opened in 1927, S. Charles Lee's first theatre design. It seats 906 on a lot only 50' wide. The interior is intact except for no seats on the main floor. They were removed for a film shoot decades ago and never replaced.

The building opened in 1914 and has been used as a hotel, office building and church. The 1,600 seat auditorium, while being used much for of its life as a church, has also been a theatre space. It has also been known as the Embassy Auditorium. The architects were Thornton Fitzhugh, Frank Krucker and Harry Deckbar.

The building was going to reopen a number of times as various hotel operators came and went. The owners, Chetrit Group, had a deal for a late 2018 opening under the management of Journal Hotels. Didn't make it. The hope is that the auditorium will be revived as a
performance space. For more information see the page on the Trinity Auditorium.

It opened in 1927 as the only west coast design of noted Detroit-based theatre architect C. Howard Crane. The local firm of Walker & Eisen designed the office building portion of the project. Originally with 2,214 seats, it's now minus a 300 seat mezzanine as a result of a 1955 TODD-AO remodel.

The theatre opened in 1924 as the Playhouse in the Friday Morning Club, a social and political group for women. The main theatre seats 1,100 and a smaller theatre seats 250. The
building, designed by the firm of Allison and Allison, also has a ballroom, lounges and many other public spaces.

It became the Variety Arts in 1977 and later went through a succession of owners trying to figure out what to do with it. It was sold in 2012 to Robhana Management, Inc. In late 2015 a church group
signed a long term lease on the building. They will move into the
building in 2019, after a long renovation process. For more information see the Variety Arts Theatre pages: history + exterior views | interior views |

The theatre opened in 1920 as the Pantages. It was a move by the vaudeville circuit from their earlier home on Broadway at a theatre now known as the Arcade. Seattle-based B. Marcus Priteca was the designer. The original capacity was listed as 2,200. Later it was down to 1,757.

It became the Warner in 1929. Later under Metropolitan Theatres management it was known as the Warrens. They closed it in 1975. The main floor is in use as the Jewelry Mart. Most of the decor is intact. For more information see the Warner Downtown pages: | history |vintage exterior views | recent exterior views | interior views |

Early use of neon: The prize (tentatively) goes to the Belasco, opening in November 1926 with a neon vertical. The readerboard under the marquee used milk glass letters. The Mayan opened in August 1927 with a neon roof sign. The marquee used channel letters with exposed incandescent bulbs. A readerboard under the marquee used milk glass letters. The Pantages at 7th & Hill (later renamed the Warner) got new verticals in late 1926 or early 1927. It's unknown if those used neon. One photo sort of looks like it had bulbs, the only other was taken from too far away.

The Orpheum opened in February 1926 with an incandescent roof sign. The El Capitan opened May 1926 with an incandescent vertical. There was no neon on the Westlake roof sign when it opened in September 1926. The Music Box sign was all bulbs for its October 1926 opening. Loew's State didn't get around to redoing its verticals with neon until 1929 (1928?) and then was also using changeable neon letters on a readerboard above the marquee.

The National Register district: The National Park Service website has a short page on the Broadway Theater and Commercial District. It became part of the National Register in 1979. Their website has a 32 page pdf of the 1978 application giving a brief summary of each of the included buildings of the district's original boundaries from 3rd St. to 9th St. There's also a 42 page photo gallery.

About photos from other sites: I've tried to give appropriate credit. The links near the images will direct you to the fullversion on the website hosting it. Please contact me regarding incorrect attributions or bad links. The images may be subject to copyright -check with the webmaster of the site in question about reproduction issues.